Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

spica

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.32 in modern English

Syllables: spi-ca
IPA

9

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A spike (kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis).

noun

noun

A kind of bandage passing, by successive turns and crosses, from an extremity to the trunk; a spiral bandage with reversed turns.

name

A binary star in the constellation Virgo; alpha (α) Virginis.

Example Sentences

"The constellation Virgo is a Y-shaped group, of which α, the star at the foot, is the well-known Spica, a star of the first magnitude."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *spey-der.? Proto-Italic *speikā Latin spicalbor. English spica Learned borrowing from Latin spica.

Inflected Forms

spicas (plural) spicae (plural)

Questions

What does spica mean?: A spike (kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis).
Where does spica come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *spey-der.? Proto-Italic *speikā Latin spicalbor. English spica Learned borrowing from Latin spica.

How to pronounce spica

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “spica”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “spica”.
Repeat and practice — Say “spica” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.